Lumo runs London-Stirling trains without toilets

A train operator has been running long-distance services between London and Scotland for days without any functioning toilets, forcing passengers on journeys exceeding five and a half hours to rely on extended station stops. Lumo, which operates on the West Coast Main Line, has confirmed a fault affecting toilet facilities on its Class 222 Meridian trains used for the 417-mile route from London Euston to Stirling.

The issue, which the company first warned passengers about on Saturday, August 1, persisted into the current week. On Friday, August 7, the 6:11 a.m. service from London Euston was affected, running with a 58-minute delay and terminating at Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, approximately 30 miles short of its final destination. To accommodate passengers, services have been making longer stops at stations like Preston to allow people to use platform toilets.

A Lumo spokesperson stated the company has been experiencing reliability issues with some toilet facilities on its West Coast services and is working closely with the train refurbishment company, Alstom, to rectify the problems. An Alstom spokesperson acknowledged the situation falls short of passenger expectations,...